Topic: The Hockey/Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[Ian Sane]

ARRRRRGH!!!  Why are the Sedins suddenly playing like, well, the Sedins a few years ago.  Before the lock out I always could not stand it when the Sedins were on the ice as they never seemed to accomplish dick.  It was just endless passing and waiting for the perfect shot which didn't usually go in because most shots don't.  Then after the lockout they became great players all of the sudden.  Now we're back in the playoffs and they disappear.  You ain't a star player if you're that inconsistent.  Now they're not the only Canucks that are inconsistent but right now Naslund and Linden are playing great so when the team blows a 2-0 lead in the last half of the third period in a game THIS important I'm going to look at the no-shows.  The team probably should have won both home games but didn't and now Anaheim leads 3-1.  That means the Canucks are out, more or less.  The odds of coming back from 3-1 are slim.  Hell Dallas couldn't do it against the Canucks even after forcing game seven.

The only good thing about this is I didn't pick any Canucks in my playoff pool and a lot of my co-workers did so even though my team is f*cked at least I'll benefit from it in some way.

When I see the Canucks play like that I thank God the BC Lions won the Grey Cup last year so that at least Vancouver isn't a total loser sports city like Seattle, Buffalo or San Diego.  

[Ian Sane]

What a brutal game to watch.  The Canucks play like absolute crap for almost the entire game until the fourth line ties it in the third.  The Ducks score the first goal by ramming into Luongo after he freezes the puck and the refs ALLOW it and also don't blow the whistle when the puck was frozen in the first place.  In a weird moment the Canucks backup goalie comes in a stands on his head while Luongo's fiddling with his equipment.  And then after putting on a goaltending clinic Luongo suddenly channels Dan Cloutier and lets in a goal FROM THE BLUE LINE to end the Canucks' season.  I'm not blaming him because he played fantastic in this game and all season long.  The rest of the team let him down by giving away games 3 and 4 and not showing up for the first 50 minutes of the game.  I don't get how anyone can be so unmotivated in such a crucial game.  The Ducks didn't even play that well this series.

Still Anaheim deserved to win because even though I don't think they were that great in this series they were still better and had more heart and when they're on they're a one of the best teams in the league.  I'd think Anaheim and San Jose would make a really entertaining series.

Luongo did manage to make it into the second round in his first year in the playoffs so at the very least we know the Canucks have a playoff goalie and can build around that.  I think the defense is good as is.  They just need better forwards that are more consistent at scoring and have some more grit.  The Sedins are back in my doghouse.  Being great in the regular season and sucking in the playoffs doesn't make you a great player.  Well they used to suck all the time so I guess this is an improvement but this was their first playoffs since they got "good" and until they show that they can play when it matters I don't have any faith in them.  Your top scorers can't be soft and these guys are.

I guess I'm cheering for Ottawa now.

[Khushrenada]

I feel for you Ian. I really do. It's such a shame that the only goal the Ducks could score in regulation was that push the goalie move. I kept hoping they'd score another goal or two that would be more legit because I didn't want to see them win on that. At the same time, I thought the Ducks completely dominated that game. Especially that first overtime. Biggest example being when they kept the Canucks from clearing the zone over and over and peppering Sabourin. And then shortly after Luongo came in Andy MacDonald slips the puck between his legs but is just off on his aim.

It was a tough series for me. I'm always going to root for the Ducks. At the same time, I do like Vancouver and want to see Canadian teams do well (except for Ottawa). It was like the Edmonton/Ducks conference finals last year although that was worst since I live in Edmonton and was cheering for the Ducks. Still, I hate it when wins are messy. It takes the enjoyment out of the game.


Still, it's great to see the Ducks are the first ones team to advance. And my predication came true. 3rd time to the Western Conference Finals in 4 years. That's incredible really when you think of how tough the West has been. San Jose has a chance to make their second appearence in 4 years also. In the east, Ottawa, New Jersey and Buffalo are all fighting to make their second appearence in the Eastern Conference finals in the last four years. Not bad but though one of them won't make it. Most likely New Jersey. Although, Buffalo could be taken out also. The only blemish on the Ducks record is 2003-2004 when they didn't make the playoffs. Ducks are the best playoff team in the league these days.

Looking forward to the Western Conference Finals also because the Ducks have a good rivalry with both Western teams left. Obviously, the Sharks are divisional rivals so that will be a big battle. Not to mention that since they are so close, travel will not be an issue for once in the Western Conference. That means it could be a hard fought battle.

At the same time, the Ducks and Wings rivalry could be big. The Wings swept the Ducks the first two times they met and then the Ducks swept the Wings when the Wings were defending Stanley Cup champions. Ever since then, the Wings have suffered in the post season. But now the Wings would have advanced to the Conference Finals with a chance to avenge that defeat. Babcock facing off against his old club.

Yes sir, it should be interesting no matter who the Ducks face.

When the playoffs were just beginning, I was talking to some friends about which teams I would like to see in the conference finals and my choices were: Ducks vs. Wings and Pittsburgh vs. NY Rangers. There's still a chance for the Wings and NY Rangers to make it. But Pittsburgh missing is just such a damper on the whole thing.

Well, I've rambled on enough about hockey.

[Khushrenada]

Wow. I can't believe the Senators are leading 3-0 in the series. That is incredible. I wish so much that the Rangers would have been able to have beaten Buffalo. They were so close in so many games but Buffalo always managed to score one more goal. It was obvious from the way the Rangers were playing that Buffalo just wasn't the most dominant team anymore in the east. But they still won. And now the Senators are on the verge of the Stanley Cup final. Darn the luck.

Thank goodness for the west. Wings and Ducks. Those are two teams I can root for. More the Ducks than the Wings as everyone should know by now. Whoever wins this series will have home ice advantage for the finals since Buffalo is most likely done now. That should be big considering how home ice has been huge for the past 3 years in the Stanley Cup finals. Hopefully, that trend continues.

[Ian Sane]

If Ottawa wins the cup then the Canucks will be the only Canadian team without a Stanley Cup win.  That would suck but one team has to be the last one and if any franchise "deserves" that I guess the Canucks would be it.

Figures that I finally realize that the Sens are chokers in the playoffs and don't pick any of their players in my playoff pool just as the team suddenly decides to prove everyone wrong.

CBC is probably pretty happy as it's likely there will be a Canadian team in the finals for the third season in a row.  Though if the trend continues the Ducks will win it all.  Why?  Because for the last two seasons the traditional hockey market team has lost in the finals to a non-traditional hockey market team.  Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa are all hockey towns that have credibility with stubborn old hockey purists.  Thus they won't win and Gary Bettman will have a huge grin on his face as he hands the Stanley Cup to the winning team in front of a quiet arena that isn't even sold out.  The lousier the ice and the more ridiculous the name and/or uniform of the team the more he'll enjoy it.

Buffalo is going to lose because of their horrible new uniforms.  The uniform a team wins a championship in becomes iconic.  That's why when people think of the ideal Oiler uniform they think of the old orange and blue from the 80's, even though it's really not that that great of a uniform.  The hockey gods do not want the ideal Buffalo uniform to look so crappy so they are cursing the team.  That's why my Canucks got swept in the finals in 82.  The hockey gods refused to allow the horrible flying V uniform to be immortalized.

[IceCold]

Well, at least the city of Vancouver has won a cup as the Millionaires..

It's funny how in the playoffs the difference between a 2-2 series and a 3-1 series is one flukey overtime goal. Buffalo should be tied with Ottawa right now, but they have choked both times they have had huge leads, and it cost them once. The series has been pretty exciting so far, apart from the results of the first three games, that is. Game 2 especially was thrilling..

You can't help but marvel at Buffalo's offense. It's really an embarrassment of riches. When Afinogenov only plays 9 minutes, that shows how much depth they have..

[Khushrenada]

Ahh. This is one of the best Stanley Cup Finals I've seen in a long time.

The Ducks are now just two wins away. So much I would like to comment on but I'm sure just being happy with the way things are going with the Ducks will be all I need to sum up feelings for now. Can't wait for Saturday. Hopefully the Ducks can get the 3 straight win and pretty much seal this series up.

[IceCold]

I had to bump it, because Rick Nash has me staring in awe again. I don't know if any of you caught his through the legs, top-shelf, off the back boards, in-game goal a few weeks ago, but you can't miss this one.

And look again, closely. The goalie saves it initially with his blocker, but then Nash kicks it to himself with his right skate and scores.

Absolutely incredible. Hats off.  

[Ian Sane]

Well it says "Bandwidth Exceeded" but I assume this is the goal against the Coyotes where he weaves through two guys and the goalie.  You ever watch a videogame speedrun where the guy runs through the game avoiding all the enemies by millimeters?  That's what this looks like.  Sticks are going for the puck from all sides but Nash just dodges them all like they're in slow motion.

Ovechkin's famous "on-his-back" goal is more exciting looking, even someone totally unfamiliar with hockey would be blown away by it, but any hockey fan would really appreciate the effort and skill required to get this goal.

[IceCold]

Oops, here it is.

[Khushrenada]

Oh, I'd heard about this. Apparently, the game was tied and in the final minute, Rick Nash scored this goal and won the game. The writer in the newspaper was saying it was most likely the goal of the year. Seeing it now, I have to agree. Phenomonal.

[Khushrenada]

Well, it's a good thing I made my re-appearance on these boards as I'll no doubt disappear from them again with the playoffs now about to begin again.

So looking forward to the Pittsburgh/Ottawa re-match.

[IceCold]

Same. Ottawa will get what's coming to them after beating my three favourite teams in the East in the playoffs last year.

Do you think Pittsburgh lost on purpose to Philly so they play Ottawa instead, like some people are suggesting? They've talked so much about it on TSN, yet they all miss the main point: this is only the first round. If Pittsburgh had got the top seed and faced Montreal in the conference finals, they would have had home ice advantage. As it stands, they don't against a great Canadiens team. I think the Pens could easily handle the Flyers too, so it isn't even much of an advantage to face Ottawa. Plus I'm scared of Ottawa - they might be doing really badly right now but they have talent, and you never know.. they might just click in time.

[Ian Sane]

The Can-sucks choking at the end has hurt my office playoff pool.  Typically I a lot of homers enter the pool, fill their team with Canucks and, provided it isn't 1982 or 1994, get creamed by the more serious hockey fans.  I never pick any Canucks or anyone from the team they face in the first round just because as a fan I don't think I have a fair assessment of them.  Without those people the pool is much smaller as a lot of people show no interest in the playoffs if the home team isn't in it.  Fortunately I find the hockey exciting enough to watch anyway.

I'm really excited Washington made it in at the last minute.  A player like Ovechkin NEEDS to be in the playoffs.  Part of the whole appeal of any sports playoffs to me is the all-star appeal of it.  It's the best teams and you want it to be the best players as well.  Seeing Crosby and Malkin in the playoffs was why I wanted Pittsburgh to make it last year.

One thing that is good about the Canucks being out is that without a specific team to root for I can watch the games that look like they'll be the most entertaining.  Last year's Vancouver/Dallas series was so DULL.  I can't imagine how anyone who wasn't a fan of one of the two teams would ever have been able to watch a whole game.

For the last few years every final has been between a Canadian team and some non-traditional hockey market team with the non-traditional hockey market team winning.  So I guess this year it'll be San Jose beating Montreal in the finals.  That would give Jeremy Roenick a Cup win though so I could live with that.

[IceCold]

San Jose played terribly today, but I still think they'll win the series. I'm saying Detroit and either Montreal or Pittsburgh.

If Montreal wins, then we could be in for a Washington-Pittsburgh second round, which would be awesome. The NHL would love that too.

With the Canucks out, I'm not too emotionally invested in any teams. I have favourites but none that I'd go crazy for.. it's good in a way since you will never be devastated by a loss or feel too down when any team loses... but you give up the elation of winning too, then.

For teams that I don't have strong feelings towards, I usually go with whichever team is a better hockey market, or the team whose fans are better. That's why I strongly dislike Anaheim, since it's like a library during a game. Obviously the Canadian teams have great fans, but teams like Minnesota, Buffalo and Colorado have amazing fans too. I think the Wild fans could rival some Canadian teams.

[NWR_insanolord]

What I saw of the Pittsburgh-Ottawa game was great. I'm mainly a Flyers fan, but I also like the Penguins because where I am there's no way to see Flyers games regularly and I can see every Penguins game. Also, I'm a Cleveland Browns fan and I was really pulling for Pittsburgh when they were in danger of relocation; I've been through that, no sports fan deserves that. I love hockey but I don't follow it as much as I used to when I played, though I always get excited when it's playoff time. There's nothing in the world of sports quite like playoff hockey.

[IceCold]

And that's the truth.

[Ian Sane]

I think the Wild fans could rival some Canadian teams.

Makes you wonder why the North Stars ever moved in the first place.  I mean if you can't sell hockey in Minnesota of all places you're clearly out to lunch.  Anytime a sports franchise moves and then the city is granted a new expansion team within less than ten years it's an embarassment to the league, and that obviously applies to all the major sports.

I watched whatever I could last night and caught a fair chunk of every game except the NY/NJ one.  In my playoff pool I've picked players from the eight teams I figure will go on to the next round.  My strategy is to get a good lead in the first round by having players playing in every game (in the past picking from less teams has bit me in the ass).  Plus if any team I've picked is eliminated I only lose a couple of guys.  So far San Jose is the only team I have that's behind but I'm still confident they'll win.  Colorado is my dark horse team that no one else has picked so I was glad to see them win.

There's just one problem.  Very few of the guys in my pool team actually put up points last night.  I have two Rangers and two Avs and sure enough NONE of those four got any points despite winning.  So, yeah, this strategy might be a little flawed.

The beauty with gambling (it's only 10 bucks so it's no big deal if I lose) is it gives me a clear team to cheer for.  Oddly enough, last night I wasn't cheering for either Canadian team.  But I will be cheering for Montreal.  I figure they're a lock to beat Boston so I picked Price as my goalie.  That's like four free wins right there.

[Khushrenada]

That's why I strongly dislike Anaheim, since it's like a library during a game.

That's a myth propagated by Canadian media especially during the Stanley Cup final from last year. I'll be watching Anahiem tonight and cheering them on against Dallas.


Watching the games last night, it came to me why playoff hockey is so wonderful. Overtime. It was during the overtime of Minnesota and Colorado and the back and forth action that I realized help make the playoffs so special. A whole game and series determined by who can score first and it could happen at instance. Wonderful. I love overtime so much and would hate for them to ever replace it with the other suggestions that get thrown out there like 4 on 4 to 3 on 3 or a shootout.

As for Pittsburgh tanking, I'm not sure I buy that arguement. As a lot of analysts have said, it was more Brian Murray trying to get a spark out of his team and deflect attention at how poorly they are playing. To me, even though first in the east was on the line, I don't think the Pens cared that much becuase if they won, they'd face Philidelphia so why play hard and beat philly and motivate them for the series to get revenge? At the same time, if they lose, so what, they still are #2 and would face Ottawa an easy team to beat. I know the Pens talked about playing for 1st since home ice is important later in the playoffs but I just get the feeling that when the game came, they just didn't care what happened and were just waiting for the playoffs to start. I think the team wanted to play safe so as not get any injuries before the playoffs. The only one who seemed to care was Fluery which was good.

[Ian Sane]

Watching the games last night, it came to me why playoff hockey is so wonderful. Overtime.

This is probably partially why soccer isn't big in Canada.  Deciding championships on penalty kicks?  Huh?

It is completely unique to hockey though.  Sure baseball can quite easily go on for many extra innings but it lacks the sudden death nature of it.  One screw up and the game and perhaps the season is over.  One thing that really sucks about having no team to root for is that sense of fear during overtime isn't there.  When the Canucks did this insane third overtime game against Dallas last year it was mentally demanding to watch.  The longer it goes the more suspense their is.  You don't want to have stayed up to 1am to watch your team LOSE.

[Ian Sane]

Well I finally made the right move in a playoff pool by not picking any Ottawa players.  For years I always picked Ottawa guys and got burned.  Then last year I decided NOT to pick any and they went to the damn finals.  But this year I didn't let that affect my decision and didn't pick any and it paid off.  Someday I might learn about San Jose as well.

[IceCold]

I have no idea what's wrong with San Jose in the playoffs. Joe Thornton is easily one of my top 3 favourite players, but for some reason he just doesn't perform in the playoffs.

I think the Wild/Avalanche series has been the most exciting so far, except for that last game. Hopefully Washington wins this next game to tie it up. The even numbered games are always the most important ones - they're the difference between a 3-1 series lead or a 2-2 tie.

I haven't been keeping tabs on the Dallas-Anaheim series, and the rest of them are pretty much over. Well, except for SJ-Calgary and Detroit-Nashville. I think the Flames series is going to 7 but Detroit should win in 6.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm so glad that Pittsburgh won last night, maybe too glad if you ask anyone who saw me throw my arms up in the air in celebration of their first goal while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I was disappointed when my Flyers lost the Conference finals, but Pittsburgh is my second favorite and I would have given them a much better chance of beating Detroit. I can't wait until Saturday for game 4, especially since it will be the first time I get to see hockey in HD thanks to NBC HD being added to our cable over the weekend. Go Penguins! Get back in this series!

[Ian Sane]

You're a Flyers fan and the Penguins are your second favourite?  That's like being a Flames fan and rooting for the Oilers as your number two.  Or liking the Rangers, Islanders and the Devils.  You're supposed to pick one team from your area and despise all others. 

I'm rooting for Pittsburgh as well just because they're an exciting, fun team to watch and the Red Wings won a cup only six years ago.  Though being in the west I see a lot more Detroit games on TV so the Pens also partially benefit from the novelty.  Crosby and Malkin are special attractions to us in Vancouver while Zetterberg and Datsyuk as these jerks who murder the Canucks a couple times a year.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm actually in Northwest PA, so if I were picking based on geography my team would be Pittsburgh (or Buffalo). My dad's a Flyers fan, though, and I grew up cheering for them. The Penguins are my second favorite because they're the only team I can see regularly on TV because we get Fox Sports Pittsburgh on our cable, the only hockey outside of Vs. and the occasional NBC game.